Change fuel filter - workflow?

[cgbier]

Gonna change the fuel filter before I put in the new pump.

What is the easiest way to do it? Unscrew the cage first, then take of the fuel lines or take out the lines, then unscrew the cage?

Blast them Ford engineers! The way they built this truck is a PITA to fix. ...and I have been screwing around on a lot of French cars in my youth, but none was ever put together as badly as the Explorer.

 

[Brian1]

Pull the fuel pump fuse
crank engine to relieve pressure
loosen hose clamp around filter
remove bracket
disconnect old filter, then replace

 

[arco777]

Do it whichever way is easiest for you. I generally pull the shield off first.

The fuel system clips are always a huge hassle for me. I stock new "fingers" for the insides of the clips before starting a filter change because inevitably I will trash one or both and have to replace them.

Blast them Ford engineers! The way they built this truck is a PITA to fix. ...and I have been screwing around on a lot of French cars in my youth, but none was ever put together as badly as the Explorer.

Are you serious? The Explorer has been the easiest vehicle to wrench on I've ever experienced... granted I've mainly worked on domestics but I've laid wrench on quite a few.

 

[cgbier]

Sorry for my earlier ranting. Just everything on the truck I had to repair so far was hard to reach (who ever needed to cut an access hole into his truck to change the fuel pump?).

Some clown has reversed the fuel filter holder. I had to unscrew that thing to get the filter out...

 

[arco777]

Sorry for my earlier ranting. who ever needed to cut an access hole into his truck to change the fuel pump?.

This is actually a really common shortcut on many vehicles. Proper procedure is dropping the tank but that can be a bigger hassle than cutting an access panel. See also GM F-bodies (Camaro/Firebird, 93-02 and perhaps 82-92) where you actually have to remove the rear axle to drop the fuel tank. Cutting an access panel turns a 5 hour job into a 30 minute one.

 

[cgbier]

Sorry, my Navajo is the first US car I ever really worked on (well I had a Ranger a couple of years ago, but that never needed fixing). Any over car car I know of has an access panel in the trunk.

 

[arco777]

Any over car car I know of has an access panel in the trunk.

Now that's pretty cool! Did not know that.

 

[cgbier]

Yeah, cuts a thirty minute job down to 10

 

[pkn]

Any over car car I know of has an access panel in the trunk.

Sad but true.

1st gen Explorer also misses drain plug in the A4LD transmission pan.

 

[jeff_shaw1]

I'm stuck in the middle of replacing the Fuel Filter on my 1994 Explorer.

I have the car jacked up in the front so that the fuel filter is higher than the gas tank and fuel won't come gushing out. Hopefully!

I have unbolted the bracket and loosened the clamp that secures the filter to the bracket. I have slid the bracket a few inches to the rear and out of the way. This has exposed the fuel filter and its two hose connections. I have removed the two metal clips that secure the hoses to the filter.

My problem is that I can't seem to get the fuel lines to release from the filter. The filter spins freely inside the fuel lines but can't be extracted from the molded fittings. I have tried to pull them apart manually, and with vise grips, then knocking with a hammer, etc. I've tried everything I can think of. Short of buying the Lisle 37300 Filter Disconnect Pliers on eBay I don't know what to do at this point.

If there is a trick to separating the fuel lines I should would appreciate learning what it is.

TIA

 

[jeff_shaw1]

I'm stuck in the middle of replacing the Fuel Filter on my 1994 Explorer....
TIA

Well, I answered my own question. I found several videos on YouTube very specific to my problem.